Miley Cyrus talks breakup, says she was 'so scared of ever being alone'

After a year in which it would seem Miley Cyrus left very little unsaid, the singer manages — in a new interview with Barbara Walters — to shed new light on her state of mind after her breakup with fiancé Liam Hemsworth.

In a snippet of her interview from Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People of 2013" special, which airs on ABC Wednesday night, Cyrus said she was "so scared of ever being alone. And I think conquering that fear this year was actually bigger than any other transition that I had this entire year."

The 21-year-old singer then issued an awkward warning of sorts to any future suitor who might want to put a ring on it. "I don't ever want to have to need someone again where you feel like without them you can't be yourself," Cyrus said.

"But that's called being in love," Walters countered. "That's called maybe wanting to be married to someone for the rest of your life. You don't want that?"

"I think I'll want that in the time that it needs to be," Cyrus said. "I don't think I realized what 19 truly is. I got engaged at 19. And I definitely wouldn't change being engaged. It was so fun wearing a fat rock for a few years. But now I just feel like I can actually be happy. I wait for those moments of silence when I'm just at my house, by myself."

Those moments of silence are few and far between when it comes to the 21-year-old's Twitter feed. Over the weekend she shared a new photo in which she's hoisting up her shirt in support of bare-chested equality among the sexes — and a new documentary film entitled "Free the Nipple." Strategically placed "Merry Christmas" hearts kept the "Wrecking Ball" singer's tweet from venturing into NSFW territory.

"Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2013" airs Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on ABC.